Shocking statistics show extent of child poverty in East Dunbartonshire

There's been a big increase in the use of foodbanks over the past year.

Published:14:18Monday 21 November 2016

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More than one in seven children in East Dunbartonshire are growing up in poverty, according to a shocking new study.

With Christmas just weeks away, a survey by the End Child Poverty coalition has revealed 14.2 per cent of youngsters are living below the breadline.

New figures also released by charity Trussell Trust disclose that between April and September, families relying on foodbanks in the area jumped by 23 per cent, with 1542 people (407 of them children) using emergency foodbanks compared to 1258 the same time last year.

Local MP John Nicolson said: “Isn’t it a tragedy that, in 2016, in one of the most affluent areas in the country, 407 children and 1135 adults relied on emergency food supplies in order to eat? We need urgent reform. I will continue to push the UK Government to introduce a Social Security system which operates with compassion.”

In Scotland as a whole, 220,000 youngsters are living in poverty, according to the End Child Poverty coalition, which includes Barnardo’s Scotland, Children 1st and the Poverty Alliance. It wants the Scottish government to ensure the proposed Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill addresses poverty at a local level.

A spokeswoman for the UK government’s DWP insisted welfare changes had “incentivised work” and were “restoring fairness to the benefits system.”